


Snow In Summer

by bbgroove



Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25449970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbgroove/pseuds/bbgroove
Summary: Prompt 033:One day snow fell in summer. Winner looks up to the sky in wonder. Their singing came to a standstill as the first snow touch their faces and wet their warm skin. Magic awaits behind this unnatural phenomenon.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4
Collections: WINNER Spring/Summer Fic Fest 2020





	Snow In Summer

**Author's Note:**

> This was part of the WINNER Spring/Summer Ficfest 2020.
> 
> Shout out to all IC who participated!

Life works in symbols.

There are no concrete answers to the oddities in life. There is science and reason, logic and rationale for the more static parts of the human condition. The answers to why something is in its most quiet form. But, what about those questions that never have an answer you can say outright? What about those lingering thoughts that tickle the mind just before you go to sleep? Are ghosts real? Are we ruled by fate?

The greatest question of all, though, is one that can never be answered in words. It can only be felt.

What is love?

That is a question four people will have to figure out themselves.

Summer in Seoul is laden with heat and humidity. Days are spent keeping fans and coolers on to abate the onslaught of heat. Along rivers and beneath the shaded canopies of trees or buildings, people rush from one building to the next in search of salvation. But, just as the clock struck four in the afternoon, signaling the end of the hottest hour of the day, something strange happened.

A cold wind rushed through the streets of Seoul. Running. Flying. Calling out for something. A shiver down the spine sent one couple into a nearby cafe. A gust pushing discarded papers across the ground scared a young girl into shuffling fast back home. An old woman stopped for a moment though, amazed at what she heard. As the wind whipped past her face, she heard a song.

“That’s great! Have you recorded any of it yet?” Mino asked. The last strum of Seungyoon’s guitar reverberated a bit before he gently laid his hand down to stop the echo. 

“A bit. I haven’t got all the lyrics yet. I was hoping we could maybe brainstorm some ideas while we were here?” he asked, reaching into his bag for a notebook. 

Hoon smiled brightly, reaching across to lightly shove his friend, “Yah! You said you wanted to treat us to some delicious summer fruits! You just want the fruits of our labor!”

Yoon’s cheeks pinked slightly, an excuse ready on his lips, “I figured we could multitask. Besides, you leave soon.” His eyes shifted hopefully from one man to the next.

Jinwoo spoke, the lilt of soft understanding laced into his tone, “We could at least take a look.” He grabbed the notebook from Yoon’s hand and placed it down. 

The notebook was a dark leather, worked into a soft pliable feel, with ornate designs covering the front. A small string wrapped around it to keep it closed. Jinwoo’s fingers worked over the string, pulling until the notebook opened.

“This isn’t your usual one. Where did you get it?” Mino asked, thumbing through the pages and noting they had a deckled edge with silver gilding. Almost as if each one had been ripped and dipped individually, before being placed inside.

“An IC gave it to me, asked me to only put love into it’s pages.” Yoon replied, pulling a pen out and setting his guitar on his lap.

“An odd thing to say about a notebook. You haven’t written anything yet” Jinwoo noted as he opened the first page, a blank space staring back at them. 

Yoon shook his head, uncapping the pen and sighed, “They said only put love in it. I know it’s weird, but I wanted to follow through with that. Let this notebook only be filled with love. What’s love if not this? **”**

The four men smiled at one another. Over the course of the next hour they gave impromptu lyrics as Seungyoon played. A melody glided over the treetops, laughter echoing behind it. Every now and then a small grunt of disapproval would punctuate the air, but was followed closely by another set of melodic guitar strums and voices. 

Jinwoo very gently took the pen, watching his brothers hash out the chord progression for a particular line Mino was trying to complete. On the top of the page, just above the scribbles and scratches, he wrote something. 

The wind that had been traveling through the city below rushed up to the four men. But unlike the people in the streets, it did not bite across exposed skin or howl along the corridors. Instead, it lingered just beyond the clearing, hidden in the trees. The rustling of the leaves was the only indication that it had arrived, and was waiting. Almost as if it had found what it was looking for. High above the skyline, just before the stars, something magnificent happened.

It started to snow.

“We have to go back.” Yoon stated as more flakes floated down. He wiped at his cheek, the snowflake having melted almost instantly upon contact with his skin. He grabbed his guitar and started packing. The picnic at the park now an unfortunate victim of the weather change. 

“It’s not even that bad. We can relax just a little while longer, no?” Mino asked casually, leaning back against the blanket they had set out. A small gasp escaped as he rolled over, dirt pushing its way into his hair. He launched an accusatory glare squarely on Hoon who stood there smiling as he folded the blanket to stuff into one of the bags. 

“You don’t do well with the cold...” Hoon started with a tone that conveyed absolute assurance before continuing, “besides Yoon doesn’t want to get his guitar wet” 

“Do you see that?” They heard Jinwoo ask, as he raised himself slowly from the ground. He stared pointedly at a section of the woods that bordered this particular park. In the trees he could see something, a glint of someone. Someone watching.

Mino stood beside him, and raised a brow, “Yeah, off in the shadow. What is it?” He and Jinwoo slowly began to walk forward, their focus trained on that one fixed point. The snow continued falling, Yoon and Hoon scrambling to gather what was around them, unaware of their friends walking away.

A rustle in the leaves stopped the approach only briefly, Mino placing a hand on Jinwoo’s back. Jinwoo looked at him, then turned his head to call over his shoulder, “Come here!” 

Yoon lifted his eyes with a questioning glance at Hoon, who simply laid down what he was holding and walked to the others. Yoon followed suit, glancing into the bush. But, the wind rustled and with an odd sort of calm, he turned around to grab the notebook. 

With it’s soft material grasped in his palm he and the others walked towards the treeline. Each step gained a sense of nostalgia, each breath a memory. Almost as if what was calling them felt like going home. 

If one was watching as this happened, all they would have seen were four men walk into the forest and disappear into its shadows. If one was watching, and paying attention, they would have seen the wind wrap itself around these men as if in a warm embrace. If one was watching, paying attention, and believed in magic, they would have seen four men walk into a memory. 

In the blink of an eye, the scenery had changed. The forest was covered in a crisp white blanket of snow. No sound could be heard except the smooth whisper of wind, and the crunch of their feet as they walked. Yoon hugged himself on instinct, but paused when he felt warm cloth instead of his cotton shirt. Pulling his arms before him he realized he was wearing a long jacket of white. He turned to find all four of them had now donned similar outfits. 

“I realize I should be afraid, but-” Jinwoo began, staring out across the snowy landscape. He took a step forward and inhaled deeply, “- I feel so at peace.” Each man nodded their head in agreement. This place felt safe.

They continued walking deeper into the wood, stopping only once when Mino snagged his foot along a root and tumbled unceremoniously forward. Coughing snow and dirt from his mouth he heard the laughter of his friends echo throughout. Hoon had padded at his jacket, wiping away stray snow and smiling. Yoon had clapped jokingly, while Jinwoo guffawed, leaning back with mirth in his eyes.

THWACK!

Yoon stopped, a comical look of disbelief, as snow stained his face and hair. He turned to find Mino smiling, his palm red with evidence of having made a snowball. “You!” Yoon yelled, bending down quickly to grab snow and pack it before chucking it in the direction of his target. Unfortunately his aim was off and Hoon was now the one to stare in disbelief. 

There was a momentary pause as they all looked at one another, before chaos broke. Snow was being flung everywhere, packed tightly into snowballs or hurled in airy piles in different directions. At one point Hoon had successfully poured a handful of snow down Yoon’s back, to which the young man yelped and began to vigorously shake to get it out. But Hoon’s celebration was short before getting pelted in the butt with a shot from Jinwoo. Mino took this time to make a small pile of snowballs, each one designated specifically for a member. He smiled wickedly as he picked up Jinwoo’s and aimed.

Yoon, having gotten rid of most of the offending snow, raced forward and grabbed one of Mino’s creations (the one he had designated for Hoon) and slammed it into the rapper’s shoulder with a laugh. The next few minutes were filled with this chaotic freedom. Laughter had penetrated the once peaceful silence of the wood and not a single one of them had noticed when the sky had turned dark.

Hoon had raised his hand above his head, ready to take aim at literally any one in his way when the wind picked up. They froze. Not from the cold, for they found that their clothes did a good job of protecting them from that. They froze from the sight of the moon illuminating the land and stars twinkling above. Jinwoo huffed a sigh and whispered in a jovial tone, “I need a break. Can’t keep up with you kids.” Hoon shoved him gently before walking ahead, lying down in a small clearing. 

They lay down, each one breathing a little heavier from the snow fight. Yoon made a face before sitting, thinking the snow would be too cold and soak through their clothes. But, it did not. In fact it was like the feeling of soft pillows, and Yoon snuggled just next to Hoon, Mino on his other side. They formed a small line, heads together and feet pointing out. The calming silence had returned, the only thing heard was the breathing of each man. None of them could remember the last time they had felt that… calm. 

“You ever just want to go back?” Hoon asked, looking up at the stars. “Before WINNER. Hell, before the show. When things weren’t so vexing?” at this point each of them had looked up into the stars, to ponder the question. 

They had been through a lot in their few short years as WINNER. Hiatus after hiatus, attack after attack, even moments of quiet seemed chock full of anxiety. Would they be able to make music again? Would they be able to perform and do what they love? None of those questions were easily answered. They had so many fears, so many anxieties. 

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

They turned to stare at the eldest of them, his hand resting gently in his lap a small smile playing across his lips. “Every moment. The good, the bad - all of it is part of what makes us - US. It’s what makes us WINNER.” He shifted to place his hand behind his head.

“We have obstacles to face. Challenges to meet. Things are always in our way. But we have each other.” Hoon, Mino, and Yoon each smiled at their hyung’s words. It was true. No matter what they faced, they would face it together.

The stars began to shift above them, the wind billowing up and across as if a thin transparent sheet had stretched itself. The stars began to dance and suddenly there they were, Team A. Scenes played out on this. Memories of years gone by flashed above them, each one a moment that none of them could forget. Yoon gasped as an image of Mino hurting his ankle appeared, and Yoon was given the position of team leader. He turned to look at his best friend, who simply smiled and said, “You were meant for this.” A warm feeling of accomplishment bubbled in his stomach as turned back to the sky.

Jinu laughed when an image of Hoon and Mino twerking jumped into view, the practice room empty save for them. Another image of Yoon slapping Hoon playfully with the arm of his shirt materialized. Hoon ruffled the top of Yoon’s head and whispered, “You little rascal.”

Who knows how long they lay there, staring at the memories above them. It could have been minutes, it could have been days. But it wasn’t until the hazy image of them lying down as they were in that moment, came, did they stop. At some point during the show, they had angled themselves closer to one another, hands clasped together. 

“We need to go back,” Hoon sighed with realization. He stood up, the rest following suit slowly, not willing to break the peace that had surrounded them. Each of them patted down their clothes, wiping off bits of debris and snow.

As they stood up the wind had shifted again, and the stars moved back to their place. The trees rustled and Yoon looked down, he had forgotten the notebook. They looked around searching for the gift. 

Mino turning in place caught a glimpse of it in the piles of snow where they first entered. He grabbed it, and looked at his friends. 

His brothers. 

His family.

“You said you wanted to fill this up with love right? I think I know the perfect song for that,” he placed the notebook back in Yoon’s hands and with a smile walked back to where they came from.

The four of them emerged from the trees, to the opening they had been at when the day first started. Their things lie in a perfect bundle where they had left them, and nothing was out of place. The only thing that had changed was that it was no longer snowing, it was no longer night.

“We should head back, get started on these songs” Yoon stated, grabbing his guitar. They each picked up something and headed home.

That night as Mino opened the notebook, Yoon having said all their music would go into this now, he stopped on the first page. There at the top, in Jinwoo’s handwriting were the words “Remember.” He chuckled softly, shaking his head and began to write. 

“No one had to say anything, we all already knew. Because without even knowing, I made up my mind. It’s been a while since I did.”

END


End file.
